Johannesburg - A bearded and much skinnier Oscar
Pistorius was "overcome with emotion" as he pulled on his carbon fibre
running blades for his first track training since the killing of girlfriend
Reeva Steenkamp, his agent says.

With a short beard and a blue hooded Nike sports top, the
lean-looking double-amputee Olympian did some light jogging at his first formal
session in around five months on Thursday.

He then described his return to a regular track routine
for the first time since he fatally shot Steenkamp at his home on 14 February
as "bittersweet" to his agent, Peet van Zyl.

"It was a very emotional experience for him to put
the blades back on, to walk back onto the track, get the smell of the
track," Van Zyl, who went to the track at the University of Pretoria with
Pistorius, told AP on Friday.

"It was tough for him. He said to me it was like a
bittersweet feeling and emotion for him to be back on the track."

Pistorius's return to training was seen in a brief video
clip released by his family. In the footage, which is around two minutes long,
the athlete is first sitting on a chair at his usual training track at the
university pulling on his running blades.

He then does some light jogging on the sunbathed track
and, finally, wipes his face with both hands as he walks off the track, hinting
at the emotion Van Zyl described.

Pistorius was charged with premeditated murder for
Steenkamp's Valentine's Day shooting death. He denies murder and says he shot
his girlfriend accidentally, believing she was an intruder in his house.

Pistorius's next court appearance is 19 August, when
prosecutors may indict him and a date could be set for the start of his murder
trial, possibly in September or October.

He faces a life sentence with a minimum of 25 years in
prison if he is convicted by a judge of premeditated murder.

Investigation

Police said the investigation into Pistorius's shooting
of Steenkamp was "at an advanced stage", but declined to give further
details, saying they "cannot be drawn into discussing the merits of the
case".

Prosecutors have said police will conclude their
investigations by August and continue to probe the circumstances of Pistorius's
pre-dawn killing of Steenkamp, whom he shot multiple times through a toilet
cubicle door.

In the last few months, the 26-year-old Pistorius has
lost weight - about 10 to 12kg - and spends much of his time doing household chores
at the Pretoria home of his uncle as he awaits his murder trial, Van Zyl said.

Pistorius looked much leaner in the video footage than he
was at the London Olympics and Paralympics last year.

Pistorius telephoned Van Zyl and his coach, Ampie Louw,
about a week ago to say he was ready to train again.

Van Zyl and Pistorius's family, who also released a
statement along with the footage, said Pistorius's return to regular training
was to help his own mental process ahead of a likely lengthy murder trial, and
he was still not planning on competing anytime in 2013.

"His focus at this time remains entirely on the
court case," the Pistorius family said. "His family and those close
to him have encouraged him to spend a few hours a week on the track, to assist
him in finding the necessary mental and emotional equilibrium to process his
trauma and prepare for the trial."

Thursday's visit was the second time Pistorius has been
seen on the university track since he killed Steenkamp.

Returning to the
track

A March sighting spurred speculation he was back in
training, which was denied by his family, who described him then as being in
"an extremely traumatised state" and not willing to contemplate
training at that time.

Then, Pistorius was photographed by a schoolgirl on a
cellphone while he was walking on the track, but he made that visit without the
knowledge of anyone else, his agent said, and waited for a group of athletes he
took to the track to leave before he put on his blades and just walked around.

His new routine will involve around three to four
sessions a week and be run by Louw, Pistorius's long-time coach and the man who
introduced him to athletics when Pistorius was a teenager and still at school.

Van Zyl said Pistorius had discovered he was desperately
missing running and training.

"I think the emotions yesterday show how much he
really did miss being back on the track and being able to run," Van Zyl
said.

"Obviously with the world championships, both
Paralympic world championships and IAAF world championships getting closer,
it's even tougher for him not be running or training or competing."

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